When I was in college the digital revolution was really taking hold on the media industry and creating quite an upset. It's for that reason that I steered away from being a journalism major and choose Advertising and Public Relations, which a career ultimately in Communications. At the time, newspapers and its traditional journalism were sinking fast and I figured companies would always need to advertise. I always thought advertising was a safe bet, but then I read this on LinkedIn a few weeks ago and it really got me to thinking...

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple days, I'm sure you've heard of the extravagant fail that is the Fyre Festival. Promoted by notable social media influencers, Fyre became the talk of the town over the last few months as millennials started planning their post-Coachella trip. Even Kendall Jenner promoted the festival—although the Instagram photo is now deleted—and was paid a quarter of a million dollars to do so according to a Fyre Festival employee. What does the Fyre Festival fail mean for the future of influencers?

You may (or may not) have noticed that I have been a little MIA lately on the internet. My blog hasn't been updated as often as I'd like and my social media posts have been slim. It's not that I've been lazy or slacking. I promise you, I have been up to so much good!

Over the past month or so, the internet has been flooded by reports of Instagram ‘shadow banning’ accounts.The term “shadow ban”—also called “stealth” or “ghost” banning—refers to banning an account without the admin knowing it. From their perspective, everything seems normal, but no one can see the photos, comments, or videos they’re posting. This practice, ostensibly limited to business accounts, is destroying engagement on these profiles.

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Today was the third (second of conference but there was also a pre-conference workshop day on Monday) day of #RaganDisney. Although it was only a half day of classes, it did NOT disappoint. Other than all of the amazing social media, marketing, and PR presentations, there was also a lot of fun happening behind the scenes (and how could it now? We're at Disney!).

Over the last few days I have been down at Walt Disney World in Florida attending Ragan Communications' Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications. The workshops, presentations, and keynote speakers have been both educational and inspired. I am definitely going home inspired and fired up! Of all of the content we went though this week, some stood out more than others. Here is a list of my favorite case studies from #RaganDisney:

We all know the power of storytelling. Stories spark emotion and appeal to our humanity. They connect and engage us. They're fun to listen to!Storytelling is all about finding your social voice and using creative storytelling to humanize your brand. It is the key to a successful and engaging social presence.

The full day of #RaganDisney conferences started today and boy were they exciting and insightful! In addition to talking about Social Media for PR, Marketing, and Corporate Communications there's is a lot of fun stuff happening behind the scenes.

LinkedIn is an amazing tool for networking and for promoting your professional career. If used properly, it has the ability to catapult your career into success.Want to know how? Follow this checklist to make your profile reach super star status and gain the most attention from movers and shakers.

Where do you start when it comes to creating great and amazing social content? It's easy to run off and start creating but it might be best to stop and think about what you're about to do. By reflecting on the six B's of creating social content, you will have a better chance at producing strong and successful content that really engaged your audience. the six B's are:

Creating content for digital is time consuming and if you're like me, then you're a very small team so resources are short. In a recent presentation by Laura Wilson, Director of Digital Engagement & Social Media at Georgetown University, she stated that as a social media communications professional we need to spend less time creating content and more time working on our strategy and system.

So how do you spend less time creating but still have a strong strategy and consistent stream of content going out? Easy! With brand storytellers, takeovers, and curation!

It's your worse nightmare as a communications professional: something terribly bad has happened to your business. And it probably has some pretty serious legal implications. The media is calling and your lawyers are knocking at your door.It's time for Crisis Communications.

As an internal communications person, I struggle daily with getting my employees engaged and interested in our communications. You would think this is an easy win, right? They're our employees, of course they're interested in us. I wish it was that easy!

Ragan Communications' Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications is an amazing event. Not only is the content at the presentations and workshops top-notch but there is also a lot of behind-the-scenes perks happening.

Today at Ragan Communications' Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Steve Crescenzo of Crescenzo Communications took the stage to talk about content creation and how to really create good content. He broke it down into four key areas of focus:

So many channels, so little time! That’s the constant battle digital communicators, who want to publish stories for their audiences in multiple formats, face on a daily basis. But how do you deliver the best content to the right channels at the right time? The answer is the “News Desk” approach, an editorial process that assembles communicators across disciplines (PR, marketing, and internal communications) to plan, execute, and deliver great content.

"It's our job as communicators to make what is important, interesting." This is a great quote from Jim Ylisela, President of Ragan Consulting, on what our job as communicators really entails. Yes there are events and newsworthy things for us to report on but it is our job to make them interesting, and of value, to our audiences. Sounds easy, right? Maybe not? Here are four tips to use to ensure your content is telling impactful and engaging stories:

This morning started the pre-conference workshops at Ragan Communications' Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications hosted at Disney World. Mark Ragan, CEO, kicked off the morning session by asking attendees what keeps them up at night.The answers were interesting:

Next week I have the absolute pleasure of taking a break from Michigan's winter tundra and head south to Florida for Ragan Communication's Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications at Disney World! This will be my second time attending Ragan's conference, nicknamed #RaganDisney due to it being hosted at the Happiest Place on Earth. The last time I attended, in 2014, I learned a lot about being a great digital storyteller, creating effective brand journalism, and everything that has to do with living in an internet of everything world. Here are the sessions and speakers I am most looking forward to this year: